Gods and Goddesses
by Argo0
Summary: For the gods and goddesses of Fiore it is a time of celebration; after fifty years the Summer Drake, Natsu, has defeated the great evil known as Zeref. However for Lucy, the Lady of the Starry Heavens, it means that her lover has returned to her arms. NaLu. hints of Gajevy. rated M for future lemons.
1. Chapter 1

AN: Hello there, I hope this posting finds you well.

This story is a fulfilled request for ObeliskX, who wanted a story based off a picture showing Natsu and Lucy as the gods Ares and Aphrodite. The picture can be found at imgur WoXw9hD. And just so we're clear, I've turned this into a Fairy Tail meets Greek mythology rather than faithfully sticking to the request, and so Natsu and Lucy will not be the god of war or the goddess of love for reason that will be explained in the addendum.

This story will have three chapters. This chapter will set things up, the next chapter will have the smut, and the third won't be a chapter per say, but rather an addendum where I explain why I had certain gods take up certain roles in this story, because I imagine a few of you will see things and think 'wtf'. The last two chapter will come out at the same time. I had originally decided to make it one long chapter, but i felt it was too big.

And finally, I do apologise for the lack of creatvity in regards to the title. I literally could not think of anything that sounded better.

And with that out of the way, I hope you enjoy the story and feedback is always appreciated.

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN FAIRY TAIL.

* * *

High above the clouds, upon the peak of Mount Hakobe, lies the city of Magnolia, home to the Sidh, the gods and goddesses of Earthland. And within this city, amongst the grand palaces and homes of the Sidh, lies a dingy forge which stands out from the other buildings due to its less than pristine nature. But if you were to ask the owner of the forge, he'd tell you that a clean forge is one that doesn't work, as working metal is grimy work. Then he'd tell you to piss off for wasting his time.

From the forge came a clanging sound, the sound of metal striking metal as the owner of the forge continued to practice his trade. This man was the iron dragon, Gajeel of the Black Steel, the deity that every craftsman prayed to for success in their endeavours. Although at that moment in time, Gajeel had little time to answer prayers and guide crafters, as he carried out his duties as the blacksmith of the gods. His brow furrowed in concentration as he continued to hammer the steel of the blade he was working on, making sure to hit the exact spot he needed to with every strike.

As he dipped the smouldering metal into the barrel of water, causing steam to erupt, his concentration was interrupted. "What are you working on there, Gajeel?" came the voice of the only other occupant in the room.

Gajeel turned towards the voice, a slight upward curl on his lips as he gazed upon the young, or seemingly in the case of goddesses, woman who sat on another barrel near the forge's window, where the best light for reading could be found. She had short blue hair and wore a short orange dress, displaying her toned legs which swung back and forth from her perch, emphasising her severe lack of height. She was Levy, the Keeper of Knowledge and the guardian of the Endless Library but for some reason, she seemed to enjoy reading in Gajeel's forge while he worked, simply enjoying his presence. And he would be lying if he said he didn't enjoy hers. "One of Erza's swords," he answered the previous question, before striking the steel again.

"One of?" queried the librarian with a raised eyebrow, placing her book down to focus on the smith.

Gajeel nodded to a large number of barrels filled to the brim with swords in varying conditions, easily over a hundred weapons. "All those belong to her," he explained.

Levy's eyes boggled at the sight. "What on Earthland does she need with so many weapons?"

Gajeel shrugged his shoulders as he went back to working on the blade. "I guess she's the goddess of victory for a reason," he theorised. "You don't earn such a title unless you've got the right gear for any situation."

"Guess so," Levy muttered, although still not really convinced anyone really needed that many weapons.

The blacksmith rose a challenging eyebrow at the title of the book she had been reading. "Heh, like you're one to talk," Gajeel chortled. "'Tales of Fiore'? Haven't you read that book like a thousand times? And lived through most of those stories anyway?"

The petite woman blushed in embarrassment and scowled. "You're exaggerating, you big lug," she countered, although both of the occupants in the forge knew that he really wasn't.

Gajeel chuckled but before he could continue to tease his guest, his nose caught the scent of someone he really didn't want to see. "What do you smell Gajeel," Levy asked after seeing him sniff the air, her embarrassment giving way to her natural curiosity.

"A skank," he snarled, glaring at the figure who darkened his door as he put down the sword he had been working on, lest he gave in to the temptation to lob it at her head.

Levy turned in that direction to see that it was Sherry, the goddess of Love and coincidently, Gajeel's wife, clad in her usual light silk dress that emphasised her curves and her long bright pink hair done up in its usual ponytail. "Hello, Gajeel my love," she purred, sparing a brief look of disdain at the blue haired woman.

Sherry was used to men falling over their feet to win her favour. God or mortal, it didn't matter, with a few words and a flutter of her eyelashes she could get any man to bend to her will. Once upon a time, Gajeel had been among them, although these days the only thing he felt for her was disdain. "I ain't your 'love', skank," he spat. "Get outta my forge before your toys overcrowd it again."

"Now, now," Sherry scolded seductively. "Is that any way to talk to your lovely wife?"

Gajeel simply scoffed. "When that wife can't keep her fucking legs shut or leave me the fuck alone, yeah it's a perfect way to talk to her."

Sherry frowned at his words. "I wish you wouldn't spread those rumours," she said airily. "People are starting to get the wrong idea about me."

"No they aren't," Levy said butting in, refusing to watch another fight between her… whatever Gajeel was to her, and his wife. "They're all saying you're a slut who can't keep her legs shut, especially after that incident with Ren and the net. And that Gajeel deserves better."

Actually what the other gods had been saying was far more vicious than what Levy had retold, and it was the small woman who mostly said that Gajeel deserves better.

Sherry's seductive expression turned sour at being spoken to like that by Levy. "Nobody asked you, you little book worm," she hissed at the smaller girl. "Why don't you run along and play with your books."

"Don't you tell her what to do," Gajeel growled. "Unlike you, she's welcome in my forge any time."

Truthfully, Gajeel didn't know why she liked reading in his forge when she could get all the peace and quiet she could want in the library, but he couldn't deny that he enjoyed her company and presence, and she seemed to feel the same. If only he wasn't shackled to that faithless harpy.

"But Gajeel-" Sherry began before was cut off.

"No," he spat, thumping his fist against the wall, making the goddess of love jump as his pupils became slitted. "You don't get to come in here and start badmouthing her. You have no right. I have no desire to see you, so unless you actually have something important to say, I suggest you skedaddle back to your boy toy."

Sherry eyed Gajeel's form and her gaze lingered on his slitted eyes, knowing that he was a few steps away from transforming into his dragon form. There were times she forgot that he was one of the few dragons who sided with the Sidh when they fought the tyranny of dragonkind and freed the world from their reign, even if he was ugly like a dragon. And though she was a goddess, she knew that she was no match against Gajeel in a fight, should he decide that's how he wanted this meeting to end. After all, it was not the individual might of the Sidh that defeated the dragons, but rather the dragon's inability to work together. Even her lover, Ren, one of the Lords of Battle under Ichiya, the Master of War, was no match against the might of a dragon.

"I just wondered if you had heard the news, that's all," she said breezily. "After all, it's all over town, but then I never know what makes it to this dingy forge of yours."

Gajeel, however, wasn't willing to play her games. "If it's all over town then it won't be hard to find out," he grumpily shot back. "So you can either tell me and leave, or just leave."

The pink haired woman deflated at his words, and decided to just tell him. "Fine, if you're going to be that way," she said with a roll of her eyes. "The word around town is that Natsu the Summer Drake has defeated the Dark One and is returning to Magnolia."

Gajeel couldn't help the small smile that grew on his face, and Levy was happy to see him smile. Like Gajeel, Natsu was one of the few dragons to fight alongside the Sidh and for the past fifty years he had been fighting Zeref, or the Dark One as he was mostly known as.

Zeref was Natsu's brother, and while Acnologia had been king of the dragons, Zeref was by far, the most powerful. Even the combined might of the Sidh, led by the Sidh Queen Mavis and their dragon allies hadn't been enough to put the lone Zeref down. It took Mavis sacrificing her life to destroy the dragon's body, forcing the bodiless spirit to wander the cosmos.

However, fifty years ago, the spirit of Zeref managed to possess the body of a young man, and through that possession returned to the mortal realm to wreak havoc. While the human body could only wield a tiny fraction of Zeref's dark power, it was still more than enough to give all but the most powerful Sidh and Dragons pause.

Natsu, as Zeref's brother, had volunteered to defeat this new incarnation of his brother and it had taken him fifty years to do it, plunging the world into a bitter cold for that entire time. Gray, the god of winter, knew to ease off outside of what was supposed to be actually winter, but without Natsu's warmth, the frost could never fully recede. Until now, that is. "That's great news," Levy commented with a smile. "It means the humans will get a break from the fifty-year winter."

Gajeel nodded, although he was more concerned about Zeref being put down than any benefits to the humans. Sherry though, opening scoffed. "Who cares about that," she sneered at the bookworm.

"You should," Levy snarkily shot back. "After all, now that humans don't have to worry about freezing to death all the time, they can start doing other stuff. Like screwing around on their spouses. Then more people would be praying to you so they don't get caught."

Sherry flushed with anger at her words, while Gajeel let out a bark of laughter that cut off any retort. Remembering why she was there, she focussed back on her husband. "Well, anyway, he's supposed to be returning tonight, and King Makarov is throwing a massive feast in celebration and in Natsu's honour," the pink haired goddess continued on, before adding with a cruel sneer. "I'm sure he'd consider a night with the goddess of love a suitable reward."

It had not been the first time Sherry had flaunted her lovers and numerous affairs at Gajeel before. Levy felt that the other woman got some sort of sick satisfaction from it. When they were first married, the blacksmith's response had usually been one of anger, until he humiliated her and her lover Ren by catching them under a magical net and exposed them for all to see their betrayal. Since then, after requesting Makarov for an annulment which had yet to go through, his response was usually one of indifference and contempt. However, this time, Gajeel's response was much different.

Throwing his head back, Gajeel laughed, harder than either Sherry or Levy could recall seeing him laugh before. And the fact that he kept this up for almost a full ten minutes began to cause worry in the tiny librarian. Finally, after a few deep breaths to catch his breath, Gajeel managed to regain enough composure to explain the joke. "Haha, thanks for that, haven't laughed that hard in ages," he said with a chuckle and a smirk. "And as for you 'treating' the Summer Drake, well you should probably save yourself the embarrassment. There ain't no way he's going anywhere near your diseased cunt."

Sherry gasped at his words. "How dare you-" she began, but she was cut off by another snort from the dragon.

"Save it," he snapped, cutting off whatever defense she tried to muster. "You may be the goddess of love, but you ain't got anything on the Lady of the Starry Heavens. Once he sees Lucy, he ain't gonna see anything else."

Levy couldn't help but nod her agreement in Gajeel's assessment about her good friend and the Summer Drake, while Sherry just complained. "Oh please," she pouted. "Like that bitch has anything on me."

The diminutive librarian scowled in defence of her friend. "She has everything on you, you harpy," Levy spat with an amount of vitriol unusual for the usually sweet tempered goddess. "For starters, she's prettier than you, with a bigger bust," she began, self-consciously folding her arms across her less blessed chest. "But not only that, she's kind and gentle, and she's waited for Natsu for fifty years. You can't handle ten minutes without some strange cock being inside you."

Gajeel couldn't help but chuckle at Sherry's shocked expression. Levy usually kept the fiercer aspects of her character hidden from people, and it was his private honour that she shared that side of herself with him, even if he was the usual target. "I know you probably don't get things like loyalty and fidelity, but to dragons like Natsu and me, they mean a lot," the blacksmith said with a pointed looked at his hopefully soon-to-be ex-wife. "A roll in the hay with a skank like you just isn't gonna interest him. And when he sees Lucy, he's gonna forget you even exist."

This time, Sherry snorted in disbelief. "No man can resist me," she boasted, shooting Gajeel a cruel look. "Not even dragons. After all you fell for me pretty hard."

Gajeel shrugged his shoulders, having long ago gotten over his mistake. "Didn't realise what a horrible skank you were," he answered, before sending an almost nervous look towards Levy. "I was blinded by your beauty and it made me miss what was right in front of me."

Levy smiled warmly at Gajeel's hidden message. She had longed harboured affections from the iron dragon, and was crushed when he married the goddess of love. She wanted almost nothing to do with him after that, but she forgave him when she and the other Sidh discovered Sherry and Ren caught in his net. She felt that the pain of being cuckolded was punishment enough, and she didn't want to add to his pain. She still wasn't exactly sure where they stood, but she knew that Gajeel cared for her, and for now, that was enough. "Thing is, Natsu's always been head over tail for Lucy, and she's always felt the same way. She is after all his mate, and the main reason Natsu turned on his brother all those centuries ago," Gajeel continued on. "You may have gotten me to fall under your spell, but you won't be able to seduce a mated dragon."

The iron dragon smirked at his wife bristling. "I am the perfect woman," she sneered. "No man can resist me."

"Wanna bet?"

The goddess of love didn't even hesitate, although he could see Levy rolling her eyes at how easily Sherry was being played. "The terms," she queried, with an arrogant tone.

"You spend the night with Natsu, after he's seen Lucy, you win," Gajeel stated, but not without disbelieving scoff. "If he doesn't even send you another look once she appears, which he won't, then I win."

"And what are the stakes, dear husband," Sherry asked, enjoying Gajeel's scowl at the title.

"Name 'em."

"If I win, you will make me a girdle that will make everyone fall in love with me as soon as they see me," she declared, with a starry love in her eyes.

Gajeel merely rolling his eyes at his wife's obvious and somewhat redundant choice. "Fine, I'll even let you name the materials," he agreed. "But if I win, which I will, then you gotta wear whatever I make for you, for a whole decade."

Gajeel, as well as being a dragon, was the god of the craftsman, and could work metal like no one else in existence. Therefore, anything made by him would be of incredible quality and beauty, despite himself being a bit harsher looking. Sherry did not see this as much of a forfeit, and figured her husband, despite his frosty deposition towards her, would use this at another futile attempt to win her heart. So either way, she would win. "Deal," she said with a cocky smirk, one that was mirrored by the iron dragon.

Each of the deities held out their hand and shook, solidifying the wager with Levy witnessing the deal. "And now with that out of the way," Gajeel growled. "Get outta my forge!"

His snarl surprised Sherry and caused her to jump, before the flustered woman made her way out of the forge. Glad that his harpy of a wife was gone, Gajeel ignored the swords he had been working on and picked up a new piece of iron. "What are you making now," Levy asked, recognising that the craftsman was starting a new project.

"I'm making a sign that says 'I'm a dirty skank' for when I win," Gajeel said, with a devious smirk and a happy heart as Levy's musical laughter filled his forge.

* * *

Word of Natsu's victory over Zeref spread far and wide across all the realms. From Makarov's Palace at the very top of Haboke to the smallest corner of the mortal realm. In fact, it was the mortals who had the most cause to celebrate. For fifty years they had suffered the bitter cold created by Natsu's absence, and his return brought warmth and summer back to the mortal realm.

One of the last places to hear of the Summer Drake's return was the Starry Heavens, or better known simply as the Afterlife.

When mortals died, they were collected by one of the numerous celestial beings and brought by way of the River of Aquarius, a river that flowed into the sky, to the Hall of Judgement, where the Lady of the Starry Heavens would read their life's story and determine whether they were good enough of a person to be permitted into the Fields of Gold, an idyllic expanse where people would spend the rest of eternity in paradise, or the Palace of Perdition, where the truly despicable would be tormented until the end of time to pay for their crimes. Occasionally, Yukino, the goddess of justice, would decide that an individual had suffered enough to pay for their crimes and they would then be permitted into the Fields, but those were rare cases.

Currently, the Lady of the Starry Heavens, Lucy, sat upon her throne, reading the life of the man her assistant Capricorn had brought her. Lucy had eyed the man with distaste. Even before the presence of the goddess of death and the stars, this man stood with a posture and look of arrogance. She was not the kind of goddess to demand people bow and scrape before her, but she found arrogance, whether it be from a mortal or a Sidh, to be a distasteful trait to possess. Still she could not judge someone whose life she had not read, and would not until she had done so.

Unfortunately, the man was not making it easy. "Is this really necessary," he said arrogantly. "I think you'll find that I deserve the highest position there is in the Fields of Golds."

Lucy fought the urge to roll her eyes and forced a smile, breaking away from her reading. "There are no 'positions' in the Afterlife," she explained gently. "You'll either go to the Fields, or the Palace, depending on how you lived your life."

This answer did not seem to please the man. "In life I had fortune and lands a plenty," he scowled. "Do you not know who I am? I am Sisyphus, the-."

Before he could continue on what Lucy was sure would be an annoyed and annoying tirade about how awesome he is that the gods would of course know who he was, she showed him the cover of his life book. "I know," she said, cutting him off. "It says on the cover."

"And before you keep going on how you deserve to go to the Fields, you should know that the only thing I've really learned about you is that you are a loathsome individual who hurt many people just for gold," she continued, her voice growing hard. "You sold your wife's family into slavery and extorted sexual favours from your daughter-in-law when your son couldn't pay back the money you loaned him. You have thrown hard working families onto the streets and stole from or cheated every person you've done business with. What possible reason would I have to allow you into the Fields?"

Sisyphus looked horrified at the implication that he had done anything wrong in life. "I fail to see how there's anything wrong with enjoying the finer things in life," he defended, harshly.

Lucy's eyes grew hard. If there was one thing she despised more than those who were horrible in life, it was those who died with no remorse for their ill deeds. "Then I hope the memory of them keeps you warm," she hissed at the greedy man. "In the Palace of Perdition."

Sisyphus's mouth dropped, before his face twisted into one of rage. "How dare you," he yelled angrily, upset at being denied the luxury in death that he had enjoyed in life.

Such was the arrogance of the man that he actually moved to strike her. However, before he could actually touch the goddess of death, he was struck with by a force he could not see, sending him flying into the entrance to the Hall of Judgement. He dazedly looked up to see the goat man that had brought him to the hall standing between him and the impassive Lucy, and a large Minotaur besides him. "You will not dare hurt Lady Lucy," the goat man, Capricorn, declared. "Her judgement has been passed. Taurus, kindly escort Sisyphus to the Palace for his sentence."

The minotaur smirked wildly at the man, whose bluster had been replaced by fear at the two large beasts. "Happy to doooo it, Capricorn," he mooed, stomping over to Sisyphus's battered form.

Taurus then grabbed Sisyphus by the throat and brought him eye to eye. "Can't believe you were stooooopid enough to try and hit a goddess, let alone Miss Loooocy," he said with an ominous chuckle. "You're gonna regret that."

With little more than a choked gurgle from the human, Taurus pushed his way out of the hall, disappearing behind the closing door. Absent of Taurus and Sisyphus, Capricorn turned to Lucy with a concerned look on his goat like face. "My apologies Lady Lucy," he said to his mistress. "I had no idea that a mortal could actually attempt to strike one of the Sidh."

Lucy merely smiled at her apologetic assistant. "It's fine, Capricorn," she told him. "I doubt even Cana could have foreseen such a thing."

"What was that," came another voice, one familiar to Lucy.

Both goddess and celestial being turned to the direction of the voice, seeing two new figures enter the Hall of Judgement. "Princess," came the passive greeting of the person wearing the maid outfit, the celestial being named Virgo. "Lady Cana has decided to visit us."

Lucy smiled at the Mistress of Fate as she sauntered across the hall towards the goddess of death. "Thank you Virgo," she said addressing the maid before turning to her old friend. "Hello Cana, what brings you here?"

"Heard some news that I knew you'd be interested in," Cana said with a slight slur in her voice. "But after questioning my powers of clairvoyance, I'm not sure I want to share it anymore."

Lucy merely rolled her eyes at her friend's teasing. "If you'd like, I'll have Virgo go get us some Caelumian wine in way of apology," she offered, before wrinkling her nose in disgust. "Although it seems that you've already had plenty to drink. Partying with Bacchus again?"

Cana gave a carefree shrug. "You know it. What can I say, the man knows how to party."

Lucy rolled her eyes again, although she gave a slight smile at her friend's antics. "Of course," she said before getting down to business. "So what was this news you wanted to tell me?"

The smile Cana shot her friend was odd, at least from the usually sarcastic and snarky Mistress of Fate. Instead of her usual cocky smirk the brunette wore a genuine smile. Normally Cana would tease Lucy a bit more with her information, but she knew this meant a lot to the goddess of death and didn't feel the need to draw things out. "Natsu's beaten Zeref," the Mistress of Fate told her. "He's coming home Lucy."

Capricorn couldn't help but watch as his mistress's face lit up like the morning sky as her beautiful smile appeared once more. It was a smile he had not seen for fifty years. Sure he had seen, polite smiles, or smiles of kindness, but when she thought no one was watching, she struggled to keep the sadness from her face. Lucy was a selfless sort, and she knew that Natsu was needed to fight Zeref, but every day her lover was absent was a fresh injury to her heart.

Lucy couldn't stop the tears from welling up in her eyes, but the smile on her face was untouchable. "He's really coming home," she whispered to no one in particular. "He's coming back to me."

Cana moved to embrace her friend, sharing in the other woman's happiness. "Yeah, he's coming back," she commented softly. "Now maybe we'll see that beautiful smile of yours more now, yeah?"

Lucy gave a watery chuckle and nodded her head, before Cana continued. "Also, Makarov is throwing a massive party tonight to honour Natsu's return," she explained. "So you're definitely coming."

In the last fifty years Lucy's presence at the famed parties of Makarov lessened as time went by, until she practically stopped coming altogether. She would still see her closest friends, but focused mostly on her duties as the goddess of death, finding it difficult to be around large groups of people, particularly the less scrupulous gods who sought to take advantage of Natsu's absence and supplant him as her lover. Goddess or mortal, women always had to deal with that kind of thing.

Yet the thought of a man's hand upon her, a man that was not Natsu, had her physically ill. If she could not have her dragon, then she would remain celibate for all eternity.

Nevertheless, Cana was overjoyed when Lucy didn't hesitate before she nodded her consent. "I wouldn't miss it for the world," she whispered happily. She wiped away a few tears before turning towards Virgo and Capricorn. "Virgo, I'll need something to wear tonight."

"Of course Princess," said the passive maid, although there was a small inflection in her voice that indicated she was happy for her mistress. "I have just the thing. It'll be perfect for your romantic reunion with Master Natsu."

As Virgo quickly dashed off for the garment that she, unknown to her mistress, had designed just for this occasion ages ago, Lucy then turned to Capricorn. "I'm sorry to do this to you Capricorn, but could you handle things here," she said, suddenly flustered at the thought of dropping the responsibilities she had taken care of for the past half century. "It's just…"

"Think nothing of it, Lady Lucy," the goat man said with a gentle smile. "It's a duty I will happily shoulder. And may I say that Lady Cana is right; it is nice to see you truly smile again."

Lucy's face once again lit up, before turning to Cana, who was smirking at the blonde goddess. "Guess we should start getting ready then," the brunette commented.

"But the feast is later tonight, right," Lucy queried in confusion, despite her happiness. "That's still hours away."

"Sweetie, you're about to be reunited with your lover who you haven't seen for fifty years," Cana countered. "You can't look anything less than divine, and even for goddesses like us, that takes work. Now let's go find Cancer to do our hair."

Lucy chuckled as Cana grabbed her by the wrist and dragged her to find the crab celestial being, leaving a smiling Capricorn in the hall. And while Cana chattered about everything that had been going on in Magnolia, Lucy's mind was occupied by a single thought.

"He came back to me."

* * *

Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed it and remember to review.


	2. Chapter 2

**WARNING: This story contains sexual material. If any of these things bother you, you should leave now.**

AN: This is the second and final chapter of this story. I hope you enjoy it and remember that feedback is always appreciated.

DICLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN FAIRY TAIL.

* * *

Later that day, in Makarov's Palace, which sat at the very peak of Hakobe, there was much jubilation. And at the centre of it was the returning hero, Natsu the Summer Drake, grinning like the big idiot he was. For ten years he had been hunting and fighting Zeref and he had missed many of his friends during that time. Not that he'd ever tell them that though, he had a reputation to uphold.

Granted, there was at least one person who he would openly admitting to missing. Very much in fact. And as Natsu looked around the Palace's grand hall, he still couldn't see her amongst all the partying gods. Still, he wasn't that disappointed.

"Looking for something flame brain?"

Natsu turned to the voice, although the scent of coal and iron gave the speaker away long before he spoke. "Metal-face, Levy, hi" he greeted boisterously at the blacksmith and the pretty librarian that accompanied him, not bothered by the insult. "Man it's good to see you guys again."

Levy couldn't help but notice the way Natsu's eyes darted around after he greeted them. "Don't worry Natsu," she said to the dragon, smiling comfortingly. "I know Lulu will be here."

"Oh I know that," Natsu stated, the certainty in his voice obvious to everyone. "Just checking if she's here yet."

Levy chuckled as she took a good look at the Summer Drake. Despite having spent the last half century hunting and fighting the greatest evil seen in existence, who just so happened to be his brother, Natsu remained his usual carefree self, for which the librarian was grateful for. After all, that had been the man who her friend had fallen in love with. "Probably making sure you've had your fill so she doesn't have to watch you eat," Gajeel commented snidely, smirking at his fellow dragon. "Because lemme tell you; even for a dragon, your table manners suck ass."

The small librarian chuckled again as Natsu growled in annoyance. "What was that, you walking anvil?"

While most people, including most of the Sidh, backed off in face of a growling dragon, Gajeel wasn't afraid at all. Although being a dragon himself helped. "You heard me, flame brain," he barked with a short laugh. "Watcha gonna do about it?"

With no other warning other than another growl, Natsu leapt at Gajeel, landing a punch in the taller man's face. Naturally Gajeel wasn't the kind of person to just let someone hit him, so he retaliated in kind. Brawls like this were far from uncommon in the home of the Sidh, and Levy felt reassured at how easily Natsu managed to slip back into place, as if he had never left.

For several minutes the two men brawled, occasionally being cheered on by other deities, before they finally managed to calm down. "Jeez, how on earth did you beat Zeref with that pitiful strength," Gajeel panted.

"Like you could do any better, you metal munching moron," Natsu shot back, equally as breathless.

"It sure as hell wouldn't take me fifty years to do it."

Despite their harsh words, both dragons were smiling, which in turned caused Levy to roll her eyes and muttered the word 'boys' in an exasperated yet fond tone. "Still, I guess with you back, things might get shaken up a bit 'round here," Gajeel said, pulling himself up from the floor and then holding out his hand to help Natsu up.

"Well someone has to stop you guys from getting boring," the Summer Drake said with a boyish grin as he took the offered hand and pulled himself up.

Levy realised with a shake of her head that for the two dragons, this was as close to 'I missed you' as they were going to get. Unfortunately, this happy scene was interrupted by another voice. "Well, well, if it isn't the hero of the hour," came a sultry tone that Gajeel and Levy had heard earlier that day.

The tiny goddess groaned at the rotten luck of having to deal with the goddess of love twice in one day, however Gajeel actually looked happy to see his wife for once. Of course when Levy noticed his amused smirked, as if waiting for someone to walk into a wall, she realised why he was happy to see her. He knew just as well as she did that Sherry wasn't going to be able to get anywhere with Natsu, but that didn't mean it wasn't going to be funny to watch her crash and burn. "Who are you?" the Summer Drake asked the newcomer.

Sherry really had pulled out all the stops for that night, Levy couldn't help but notice. The dress she was wearing was very beautiful and alluring. It was a light pink colour and was tight around the goddess's waist and bust, giving all who cared to look a nice view of her cleavage and ass. It was also almost indecently short, finished just above her mid-thigh and showed off her stunning legs. Levy had to begrudgingly admit that the other goddess was nothing short of beautiful, and could forgive Gajeel for being stupid enough to marry the shameless harpy in the first place.

But perhaps the best thing about the goddess's dress was Natsu's reaction to it. Which was to say, he didn't react at all. "My name is Sherry, I'm the goddess of love," the pink haired woman purred, not showing her annoyance at the lack of a lustful stare from the dragon. "Tell me Natsu, are you enjoying the party?"

This of course perked Natsu right up from his confusion from being addressed by a total stranger. "Oh yeah, it's awesome," the dragon exclaimed, wildly throwing his arms around. "It's been so long since I've seen everybody, it's great."

Levy was touched at his enthusiasm for something so simple as a reunion with old friends while Gajeel merely rolled his eyes at the other dragon. "Maybe if you defeated Zeref sooner, we could have had this party sooner," snorted the blacksmith.

The god of summer snorted in annoyance. "Like an iron for brains asshole like you could have done it sooner," scowled Natsu, repeating an earlier comment.

Although neither dragon saw, too focused on slinging insults at each other, Levy could see that Sherry was annoyed and put off balance at having been ignored so easily. The small librarian couldn't help the smirk that lit up her face. Still, Sherry's shock didn't last long, as she placed one of her soft hands on Natsu's bicep. "I'm with you, Natsu," she said in a condescending tone. "A weakling like Gajeel could never beat Zeref."

The Summer Drake frowned at her words and her strange touch on his arm. Sure he felt he was stronger than Gajeel, and him beating Zeref proved it, but at no point did he think Gajeel was weak. However, before he could say anything else, Sherry continued on. "You know, this party is nice and all, but you and I could have our own party in one of the private rooms. It'd be far more… pleasurable than dealing with Gajeel's ugly face."

Levy rolled her eyes at Sherry's lack of subtlety, although she did suppose it would be wasted on someone like Natsu, who was notoriously dense. The dragon looked like he was about to answer, however, something drew his attention as his gaze shifted from the goddess of love to something over her shoulder.

Levy's eyes followed his gaze and smiled when she saw what he was looking at. "Lulu," she called out in greeting, happy to see her friend, and happy to see her friend's lover so affected by her appearance.

The dress the blonde goddess was wearing was breathtaking, no less than to be expected from Virgo. The material glittered like a clear night's sky, befitting for the Lady of the Starry Heavens and clung to her figure to emphasis her fantastic curves. It was low cut, although not indecently so, just enough to give admirers an idea of how big her bust was and a diamond shape had been cut out of the bodice, showing off Lucy's toned stomach and navel.

As the blonde's eyes found their way to Natsu, a beautiful smile appeared on her face. She began to walk towards the Summer Drake and their friends, showing off her gorgeous legs with each step as they moved through the slits in the front of her dress that lightly brushed the floor. "Lucy," Natsu murmured, as if in a trance.

He too, began to move towards his lover, accidently bumping into Sherry and earning an offended gasp from the goddess of love. For fifty years he had waited for this exact moment; the reunion with the woman he loved more than anything else. And nothing was going to get in his way, not even the goddess whose name he had already forgotten.

Whatever composure Lucy tried to maintain vanished when she saw Natsu coming towards her. She ran as best she could in such a long dress, but even that was a minor obstacle compared to her desire to reach Natsu. Quickly closing the distance between her and the Summer Drake, she launched herself at Natsu and his open arms, catching her in his embrace. She felt the warmth and love of his arms around her, a feeling she had waited for fifty years to feel once again. Before she could speak though, Natsu's lips found her, and she quickly melted into the kiss.

Despite the fact that they were in a crowded area, Levy couldn't help but feel like she was intruding on a very intimate moment between Natsu and Lucy. It certainly wasn't the raunchiest kiss she had ever seen, thanks to Elfman and Evergreen. In fact, the kiss appeared to be quite soft and innocent, just pressing their lips against the other's. But Natsu and Lucy appeared to be focused on nothing else, other than each other as if they were the only ones in the room.

Finally, their lips parted and they gazed into each other's eyes. "Hi," Natsu said with a happy grin.

It was a smile that Lucy returned with her own radiant one. "Hi Natsu," she murmured softly. "I missed you."

"I missed you too," he whispered in reply before pressing a kiss against her forehead.

Lucy had imagined, when she was reunited with Natsu, that she could scarcely believe. After all, she had been without him for half a century, it would be understandable that it would be difficult to believe that after so long without him he was finally with her again. But instead of the disbelief she thought she would feel, instead she felt… content. Natsu was finally with her again and finally the world was right once more.

Meanwhile, as the two long separated lovers were finally reunited, the three that Natsu had just ignored watched on, with Sherry looking quite put out. "Would you look at that," Gajeel said idly. "Natsu just ignored your 'charms' for Lucy. Didn't you say no man could resist them?"

The smirk he wore was one of clear victory, even if the goddess of love didn't think it was over. "It wasn't like I was actually trying earlier," she scoffed. "Admittedly, I didn't think I'd have to try this hard, but I guess anything worthwhile isn't easy. Just you wait, Natsu will be in my bed before the evening is done."

"I'll hold you to th…" the iron dragon began, before looking past Sherry again. "Huh, actually scratch that, I win."

"What," Sherry screeched at her husband. "What on Earthland makes you say that?"

"Thought they'd last a bit longer than that, though" Gajeel commented, ignoring the pink-haired goddess's question.

"Can you blame them," said Levy, looking fondly past Sherry, happy for her friend's reunion. "Although I do wish Lucy would at least have said hello before going off with Natsu."

At the small Sidh's words, Sherry spun around to where Gajeel and Levy had been looking and saw that while her husband had been declaring his victory and she had declared her renewed attack, barely two minutes, Natsu and Lucy had snuck off. The goddess of death hadn't even said hello to her best friend, so it didn't take much as to work out where they had gone. "What," Sherry hissed in disbelief. "H-How could he? I'm the perfect woman, the fantasy of all men, the goddess of love for Mavis' sake! How could he ignore me for that blonde bimbo?"

"Told you," Gajeel snorted, enjoying the blow to his wife's ego. "What Natsu and Lucy have, it's deep, deeper than even you could understand. You get lust and infatuation, but real love like that, I doubt you'll ever understand it. They've been separated for fifty years and yet they manage to pick up right where they left off. As the Shrimp pointed out earlier, you can't handle a few minutes without getting laid."

"Gajeel…" Levy sighed softly at his touching words. She even decided to ignore his annoying pet name for her.

Before Sherry could comment further, a loud cackling was heard over the noise of the party. "MWUHAHAHAHAHA, LOOKS LIKE OUR GUEST OF HONOUR AND THE LADY OF THE STARRY HEAVENS HAVE SNUCK OFF TO HAVE THEIR OWN PARTY," came the booming voice of Makarov, King of the Sidh. "DOESN'T MEAN WE'RE GONNA STOP THOUGH. EVERYONE, DRINK MOOOORE!"

Gajeel snickered as Levy shook her head in amused exasperation. "Master's wasted," she sighed with a small chuckle.

For Gajeel and Levy, the look of the goddess of love's face was priceless. It was a mix of absolute shock and barely contained fury. "I can't believe you dragons," she huffed indignantly. "The perfect woman right in front of you, and you don't even see her. None of you are worth my time!"

Before either the dragon or the tiny librarian could respond though, Makarov, from somewhere in the hall, began shouting again. "OH AND BEFORE I FORGET," he announced in his booming voice. "I, MAKAROV, KING OF THE SIDH, HEARBY NULLIFY THE MARRIAGE BETWEEN GAJEEL OF THE BLACK STEEL AND SHERRY THE GODDESS OF LOVE."

"'BOUT TIME YOU OLD FOOL," Gajeel barked, although the smile showed how happy he was to be free of the harpy he was married.

"WHAT?" Sherry screeched, earning Gajeel's attention and ire while everyone cheered and went back to partying. Too be fair though, they probably would have cheered for anything someone shouted. "Why the hell would you have our marriage annulled?"

"Because you keep fucking around?" the now baffled Gajeel said, confused as to why Sherry was complaining about the annulment, or why he might want an annulment in the first place. "Whatever, I don't care," he continued. "I'm free of you, so you can fuck around as much as you want now, it ain't my problem," he told his now ex-wife, before pulling something out of his pocket. "Although, before you leave, as you lost the bet, you gotta wear this now."

He had pulled out a simple piece of metal, or at least that was what it looked like until her squeezed it. The pressure of his touch sent magic following through it, lighting it up and animating it. It flew from his hand straight above Sherry's head who could only watch in surprise. Her surprise turned to shock as the piece of metal expanded to three feet in length, the words 'I'm a dirty skank' plain as day.

Gajeel chuckled at her face, and Levy struggled to smother a stray giggle. "That sign is gonna follow you around for the next ten years," he said with a sneer. "Just in case anyone didn't already know what a horrible whore you are."

Sherry gasped in shock as she tried to remove the sign with her magic, only to find it reflected back at her, earning another chuckle from her now ex-husband. Sending Gajeel another furious glare, and one at Levy for good measure, the goddess of love stormed off. To where, neither cared, especially Gajeel as now that their marriage was finally annulled, she could go have daily orgies with satyrs for all he cared. And he had more important things to worry about.

He turned to the tiny librarian who was smiling expectantly at him. "So… dunno if you heard, but I ain't shackled to that harpy anymore," he said to Levy, almost nervously.

"I heard," she teased. "I'm pretty sure even the mortals down below heard."

Gajeel grunted in annoyance at the smiling Sidh. He should have figured she wasn't going to make this easy for him. "Well… now that I ain't married any more… I was wondering, if you… I dunno, wanna take a walk around the gardens?"

Levy's smile widened even though she rolled her eyes. "Or," she began to counter. "We can go find a room, ideally one not already occupied, and… how did Master phrase it? Have our own party."

She couldn't help but giggle at the stunned look on Gajeel's face. However, her giggles were quickly interrupted by a loud gasp, as Gajeel gathered his wits and picked up the tiny goddess before throwing her over his shoulder. "GAJEEL," Levy shouted as he carried her in the direction of the spare rooms of the palace. "PUT ME DOWN YOU BIG OAF!"

The iron dragon ignored her shouts, grinning stupidly to himself. He was finally free of that harpy, but more importantly, now he could truly be with the woman he really loved, a woman who held his heart and not just his eyes.

Salamander had had the right idea the entire time, only being with the woman he truly loved. Not that Gajeel would ever, EVER, tell Natsu that.

* * *

While the party continued on with the absence of the guest of honour, Natsu and Lucy scurried away from the crowd and snuck off to an empty room, eager to be alone. Finding such a room, they entered, and before either of them could observe the contents of the room, beyond the bed, Natsu pulled Lucy into his arms, and met her lips with his. Although caught by surprise, Lucy put up no resistance. In fact, her hands caressed his neck and the moans that she released into his mouth were by no means discouraging.

After wrestling with their mouths are several minutes, they reluctantly pulled apart. "You have no idea how much I've wanted to do that," Natsu whispered, his face close to Lucy's.

"Almost as much as I have, I imagine," she softly replied. "I've missed you so much Natsu."

He heard the slight tremor in her voice and immediately pressed his lips against hers to reassure her. "Hey, hey, it's ok," he comforted. "I'm here now, and we're together again."

"For tonight, sure," Lucy conceded, her voice still shaky. "But you need to remain here to guide the summer, and I will need to return to the Starry Heavens after tonight."

Once again, he kissed her to comfort her. "Then we'll just have to make the most of tonight," he told her, wearing the boyish grin that she had fallen in love with. "And sure, we'll have to part again tomorrow, but that's only till the autumn arrives. Once summer's over, try and keep me out of the Starry Heavens."

Lucy gave a watery chuckle. "I imagine I'll be sick of you by next summer," she teased softly, earning a chuckle from her lover.

His arms firmly wrapped themselves around her slender waist, ensuring that any space between them was impossible. He captured her lips with his and proceeded to kiss the love of his eternal life, pouring every ounce of longing and affection into the kiss. She returned it with equal feeling, and the pain felt by both of them over then past fifty years eased, as if they had not suffered such an absence. This time when the kiss broke, it was Lucy who pulled away, her tears gone and replaced with a seductive glint in her eye. "Well, if we are to make the most of this one night together," she purred. "Then we should move this over to the bed."

Removing Natsu's arms from her waist, she gripped his wrist and dragged the grinning Summer Drake over to the gorgeous bed. It was actually very similar to the luxurious bed they had shared after the downfall of Acnologia, which Lucy couldn't help but think that Makarov was somehow involved in leading them to this room. However, she decided to ignore it, even if it was nice to think that the King of the Sidh blessed their union. Instead she focused on her lover, as she pushed him onto the bed.

Upon his back, Natsu couldn't help but gaze at the radiant beauty that was the Lady of the Starry Heavens. Her dress glistening magnificently in the moonlight, that same light illumining her perfect skin and divine figure. But that most beautiful part about his lover was her face, and the look of love and longing that she wore when she looked at him. Their eyes remained locked, although as Lucy pulled the laces that held up her dress, Natsu's eyes would drift down to the treasure now revealed to him, her now fallen dress no longer hiding her form.

The moonlight shone over her perfect body as Natsu's eyes travelled over the feminine curves of his lover. Her bountiful breasts, her toned stomach, her wide hips that he loved to hold on to, those amazing legs that he loved to have wrapped around his waist. It was a sight he'd fear he'd never see again on his worse days, when even his endless confidence struggled to sustain him. In those dark times, it wasn't his strength that caused him to prevail, but rather the desire to see his Lucy again, to whisper sweet nothings and share a lover's embrace. "Gods I've missed you," he whispered reverently.

This earned a smile from the blonde goddess. "No more waiting," she said, as she began to help him remove his own clothing. "It's been too long."

Although she was far subtler about it than the Summer Drake, Lucy was no less affected by her lover's body. Those strong arms and hard muscles never failed to make her feel safe and loved, nor did they fail to set her afire with lust. Particularly his rock hard manhood, standing erect in anticipation for their first night together in half a century. But perhaps most of all, was how he looked at her, with a mixture of love and lust and a predatory look in his eye that made the usually patient goddess unwilling to wait.

Without anything more than a fond look, Lucy got up onto the bed and straddled Natsu's waist. She then grasped his erection, smirking at the excited gasp that escaped from the dragon before lining it up with her womanhood. Once the head had slipped past her lips, she eased the cock inside her, causing both man and woman to groan in pleasure. "Fuck… so tight… ah, Luce…" groaned Natsu. "How are… you this tight… I swear, you weren't… this tight last time."

"Our last time was fifty years ago," Lucy said, struggling to keep her voice steady. "That's a long time to go without… and it doesn't help… that you're… oh… so big…"

It delighted Natsu to hear that. Sure he knew that the Lady of the Starry Heavens was one of the most loyal of all the Sidh, but a part of him had wondered if she had taken a temporary lover, to help fight off the loneliness that his absence caused. And to him, it wouldn't have mattered if she had, as long as her heart remained his. But to hear that she had gone without for so long, it made him happy. Although, that happiness paled in comparison to the pleasure caused by once again being sheathed inside his lover, her tightness around him exquisite.

Lucy had to stop herself from wincing in pain as her lover's huge member penetrated her long neglected pussy. It had been a long fifty years, where she hadn't even attempted self-gratification and she was paying the price for not indulging. But even though there was a bit of pain, there was also great pleasure and affection. After going so long without, she could once again feel her lover inside her, where he belonged, and as she began to move along his shaft, slowly in order to get used to him again, the pain subsided and the pleasure only increased. "Ah… you're inside me Natsu…" she moaned when she felt his tip reach her cervix. "Oh gods… so long… it's been so long… we're… ah… finally together again…"

Natsu reached up to her perfect face and swiped away the single tear that had escaped. "This was always going to happen," he muttered softly. "Some days… it was only the thought of seeing you again… that kept me going…"

Lucy felt her cheeks reddened, although whether it was at their exertions or Natsu's sweet words, she didn't know. And truthfully, she didn't care. Ever since she had heard that Natsu would be returning, little else could occupy her thoughts. After half a century without him, he was here in her embrace, nothing else mattered. She gently grasped the hand that had wiped away the tear and lowered it to her large breasts, moaning erotically at the feeling of his warm touch on her flesh. "Ah… Natsu…" she moaned. "Touch me… please… I've missed this… your hand on my breast… while you're inside me."

Natsu relished the feeling of her soft breast in his hand as he gently squeezed it. The moan that he earned from Lucy was just as treasured. He probably should have been amazed that even after fifty years, the knowledge of her body and what aroused her was still second nature, but it wasn't his nature to question it. He had always been attentive to what Lucy liked and her reaction to every touch was his guide to his pleasuring her, not some manual that he memorised.

As Natsu continued to massage her breast, Lucy began to be overwhelmed by her desire for more. She began to move her hips in earnest, her juices leaving a noticeable layer on his shaft as the appendage slid in and out of her. "Ah… yes… Natsu… just like that," she cried as Natsu's other hand groped her other breast.

Natsu grunted as he bit his bottom lip, doing everything he could to hold off his impeding orgasm. However, after having gone so long without, he was struggling to accomplish this. "Arg… Luce… I… uh… can't hold it… anymore," the Summer Drake grunted again, his seed firing from his cock and pouring into his lover's body.

It was a sensation that Lucy had missed dearly, the feeling of his essence filling her body with a wonderful warmth that could only be associated with him. A feeling where she could barely tell where she ended and he began. "Ah… AH… NATSU," she cried in ecstasy as her own orgasm overtook her body.

As both of them were robbed of their senses by the mutual pleasure, Natsu nevertheless sought to extend the sensation and shifted his hands from Lucy's breasts to her back. He then proceeded to pull her down so she was laying along his body, and brought her lips to his. They moaned into each other's mouths, their tongues duelling while they were wracked with orgasmic bliss.

They slowly parted, a small trail of saliva still connecting their freshly kissed mouths. "More," Lucy said huskily. "I _need_ more."

Much to Lucy's great regret, she felt Natsu's stiff member slowly withdraw from her womanhood. Yet before she could utter any kind of protestation, she gasped as the dragon flipped her onto her knees and he once again run the head of his cock along her drenched and now messy pussy. "You want more," he whispered hotly into her ear, eliciting another gasp as he slid inside her again from this new position. "Then it's more you'll get."

Lucy arched her back as Natsu began thrusting into her with speed and purpose. "Ah… yes… ah… Natsu," she moaned erotically, her hands barely holding her up.

His thrusts became rougher and more powerful and they caused Lucy's arms to buckle and give out. Yet even with her new position of being face first in the silk covered pillows of this luxurious bed, the blonde goddess continued to move her hips in response to Natsu's own movements. "Ah… oh yes Natsu…" she cried. "Right there… ah… oh gods…"

The Summer Drake leaned over, bringing his mouth to her ear. "I'd almost forgotten how much you liked being taken like this," he whispered to her.

Lucy gasped at the sensation of his hot breath blowing against her skin and delighted it in. "So had… ah… I…" she admitted with another gasp. "Reminds me… how strong… ah… you are…"

Sure Lucy wasn't a massive fan of being dominated by anyone, let alone a man, but Natsu was different. It was his strength that had first attracted her to him, but also the fact that it was tempered by kindness and love. After all, Natsu didn't just fight Zeref for his own selfish reason. Oh sure, Lucy had no doubt that her dragon had been eager to prove himself stronger than his brother, but it was more than that. He loved his friends, dragon and Sidh alike, and would fight every dragon that ever existed for them. And he loved her above all. Being taken from behind reminded Lucy of his strength, yet his gentle and firm hands on her body reminded her of his love as well. "Ah… yes…" she cried as his head once again touched her cervix. "I'm… oh… I'm yours Natsu… always yours…"

Natsu couldn't help the groan as she declared herself his. He knew it had always been true ever since they first met, but it was always nice to hear it. And when combined with her clenching walls around his hard on, it quickly brought him to his peak. "Lucy… ah… mine…" he grunted, another batch of his seed filling the woman he loved.

Lucy shuddered at the warm sensation filling her body once more. She shuddered in a gentle climax, nowhere near as explosive as her previous orgasm, but just as wonderful. "Natsu…" she whispered with an unsteady voice.

The Summer Drake groaned as the last of his seed flowed into his lover, before removing himself from her and collapsed to her side onto his back. Within mere seconds, Lucy had turned herself around and pressed her sweaty body against his and snuggled into his side. There they remained for several moments in silence, content to simply be in each other's presence.

Finally though, Natsu spoke. "I think I missed this most of all," he murmured into her hair, before pressing his lips against her scalp.

"More than what we just did," the Sidh woman teased, her face nonetheless reddening at his words.

"That's always great," he answered. "But this, lying together in bed like this with my arms around you? It lets me know that your safe and everything is right in the world."

His words touched her heart in a way that even the most eloquent of poets could only dream of. They held nothing more than his simple honesty, one of the things she loved most about him. "Everything is right in the world," Lucy told him. "Even if I have to go back to the Starry Heavens when morning comes, you are back with me, where you belong. Because as much as I am yours, you are mine as well."

Natsu grinned at his lover before nuzzling her cheek with his nose, earning him a small giggle from the blonde. "Of course I'm yours," he stated. "I wouldn't want to be anyone else's."

He leaned down and pressed another kiss against her lips, small and chaste compared to the ones they shared during their moments of passion. Lucy hummed pleasant against his lips, bringing one of her delicate hands to stroke Natsu's cheek while they kissed. "Will you be here, when I wake," Lucy asked once their lips parted.

Her could hear the small tremor in her voice, as if she was afraid this was all a dream that would disappear. "There is no where I'd rather be," he answered softly, his arms wrapping around her tightly.

For the briefest of moments, Lucy was worried that this was another dream; that Natsu had returned and they had spent the night together were mere figments of her imagination. But the presence of his arm around her waist and the sound of his heartbeat when she placed her ear against his chest convinced her that this was all real. With that knowledge, the blonde goddess allowed herself to sleep, knowing that when she woke up, her lover would still be there.

* * *

That following morning saw the Lady of the Starry Heavens returning to the Hall of Judgment, her star sparkling dress hidden away, and replaced with the simple black dress that she usually wore when she performed her duties. Yet even though her dress no longer sparkled like the night sky, the smile on her face was brighter than any star. Something that Capricorn couldn't help but comment on as he allowed Lucy to return to her throne. "I trust you enjoyed your evening, Lady Lucy," the goat man asked humbly.

"Thank you Capricorn, yes I enjoyed it very much," Lucy answered her assistant, a small blush gracing her cheeks.

Capricorn chose not to say anything, just happy to see his mistress in such high spirits. However, he was saddened, at least for his mistress's sake, that she had returned alone. "The Summer Drake didn't return with you?"

Lucy gently shook her head. "No," she responded. "The mortal realms have been too long without summer. He is needed below in order to guide the season."

"You are not saddened by this?"

"A little," she said truthfully, before brightening up. "But summer cannot last forever. When the summer ends and the world begins to cool, he will come, and we'll be together during the winter, until it's time for summer to come again."

Capricorn couldn't help the frown that appeared on his face. "Wouldn't you like having a more… permanent arrangement?"

He was further confused by Lucy's gentle smile. "It would be nice, to spend endless years with Natsu without a care in the world," she replied. "But unfortunately, we both have responsibilities that neither of us can ignore." She then paused for a moment, before her smile grew. "But it just makes our time together all the more precious. And after having missed Natsu for fifty years, going without him for a few months of every year won't be difficult. Especially when I know that I'll see him again."

"I see," her loyal assistant commented. "Well, as long as you are happy, Lady Lucy,"

"I am," she told the goat man. "Natsu and I will be together again in the autumn. Until then, I have my duties here to occupy my mind. Could you bring the next person in please Capricorn?"

Capricorn nodded, and turned to exit the room. Before he left the Hall of Judgment however, he subtly looked back at his mistress and from the corner of his eye saw her beautiful smile, and couldn't help but smile himself. Lucy and Natsu may not be together right now, but they would be together again in the autumn, and that thought was enough to sustain the Lady of the Starry Heavens' happiness, at least until the Summer Drake himself arrived here.

And from then on, those who died nobly or humbly, were always greeted by the smiling goddess of death as a form of comfort, with those dying in the winter being further warmed by the god of summer, by her side.

* * *

Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed it, and remember to review.


	3. Chapter 3

AN: So this isn't another chapter, but rather an explanation of why I made certain characters the gods of certain aspects. As any mythology nerd will tell you, a lot of the things I wrote about in this story are actual myths where the characters are replaced with those from Fairy Tail.

Also please note that because this isn't an actual chapter, I didn't really put any effort into editing it. If there's anything unclear or you just want to have a go at be for being lazy, feel free to put it in the review or PM me.

So here we go, in order of when they were mentioned.

Mt Hakobe – Here, Hakobe is Mt Olympus, the home of the Greek gods, also known as the Olympians, for obvious reasons.

Sidh and dragons – In Greek mythology, the Olympians fought a great war against their forebears, the Titans. Although not related in this story, the dragons are playing the role of the Titans as the powerful and tyrannical rulers of the cosmos and the Sidh play the role of the Olympians, who would overthrow them.

In European tales, dragons are often seen as creatures of chaos and destruction, as well as the more comical parts about them stealing everyone's treasure and kidnapping the princess. In the story of St. George and the dragon, the dragon is a metaphor for paganism, a catch all phrase for any non-Abrahamic religion.

In this story, some dragons, like Natsu and Gajeel, sided with the Sidh instead of fighting with their own kind. This comes from Titans such as Prometheus and Helios who also decided to fight along the Olympians rather than with their own kind.

From Celtic mythology, the Sidh or Sidhe, were the elves and fairies, hence why the fairies from Fairy Tail are called the Sidh in this story. They were to have supposed to have lived in a land called Tir na nOg, or land of the eternal youth which was supposed to be to the west of Ireland, but not on any maps. The denizens of this land were said to spend eternity young, healthy and happy. This was probably also the inspiration for the Western lands from Lord of the Rings, where Gandalf, Frodo and many of the elves went to at the end of Return of the King.

Gajeel as the smith god might be an obvious choice, as might be Sherry's being the goddess of love, but I'm sure a few of you were a bit surprised when I paired them together, or threw them into a love triangle with Ren. This wasn't random on my part. The Greek smith god Hephaestus, was married to the goddess of love, Aphrodite, but she was constantly cheating on him, her most famous lover being the god of war, Ares.

I always felt a bit sorry for Hephaestus when I hear this story. He was a gifted craftsman, but because he was born lame and ugly, he was mistreated by the other gods, including his mother Hera. It was also the reason I didn't follow the original request of making Natsu and Lucy into Ares and Aphrodite respectively.

As for making Ichiya the god of war, or Master of War as I referred to him in chapter 1, well that stemmed, in part, from making Ren Sherry's lover. I kind of felt he always had to be subservient to Ichiya, whatever he was the god of. And then I decided to make Erza the goddess of victory, which then led me to finally decide on Ichiya being the god of war, because what is war if not the pursuit of victory? Ren and the others would serve as Ichiya's subordinate gods, each representing some aspect of war and soldiery.

Lucy as the god of death might have been an odd choice, but I felt it worked for the story. Heavens refers to the skies, which I'm sure you've noticed is filled with stars, some of which make up the various constellations such as Capricorn and Virgo. Heaven is also the seat of god and where Christians go in Christian mythology when they die and connecting the 'Lady of the Starry Heavens' to the afterlife seemed logical. The Fields of Gold is based off the Elysium fields in Greek mythology, which was where the kindest and bravest of people went when they died. Fields of Gold was also the name of episode 198 of Fairy Tail. The Palace of Perdition was where Natsu, Lucy, Wendy, Mira, Yukino and the Exceeds ended up after the failed rescue attempt from Mercurius and in this story represents Tartarus, the ancient Greeks version of Hell.

As a particular reviewer noticed, the relationship between Natsu and Lucy is based on that between Hades, the Greek god of death and Persephone, the Queen of the Dead and the goddess of spring. Persephone was the daughter of Demeter, the goddess of agriculture. Hades fell in love with her and kidnapped her and brought her to the Underworld. Demeter, overtaken by grief, stopped things from growing, bringing a kind of ice age if you like. This carried on for a while before Zeus had enough. He told Hermes to go to Hades and tell him to let Persephone go, as long as she hadn't eaten the food there.

Just as she was leaving, Hades managed to get Persephone to eat the pomegranate seed. As he had eaten the food of the dead, she was required to stay in the Underworld, something which greatly upset Demeter. Zeus made a compromise; for part of the year, Persephone would need to stay with Hades as his wife while for the rest she went to her mother on earth. That time she spent in the Underworld, the earth would become cold and nothing would grow, but when she returned, the plants would grow again. This was how the Greeks explained the difference in season.

Sisyphus wasn't a random character either. In Greek mythology Sisyphus, who was known for his craftiness, tricked Hades into being bound by these unbreakable chains that were originally meant for him. Because Hades was imprisoned, no one could die. This bothered the gods because sacrifices couldn't be made and it particularly irked Ares, because where's the fun in a battle if you can't kill your opponent. Anyway, the gods tortured Sisyphus to make him wish he was dead, forcing him to release Hades, allowing things to die once more.

Sisyphus' pride would also be his downfall. He felt he was craftier than Zeus himself, so to punish him for his hubris, when he did die, he was forced to roll a stone up a hill, only to watch it roll down the hill and start the task again.

Pretty sure that's everything, but if there was anything else you were confused about, please send me a PM and I'll try and answer it.

As usual, thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed the story and this addendum and please review.


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